Three years later, COVID ‘Patient Zero’ returns to California hospital that saved his life
Three years since his miraculous death-defying recovery Gregg Garfield, aka COVID Patient Zero, returned to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank on Monday, May 8, to thank the staff who nursed him back to life.
Garfield was given a 1% chance of survival when he was admitted to the ICU after contracting COVID-19 during a ski trip to the Italian Dolomites in February of 2020.
He suffered from collapsed lungs, sepsis, failed kidneys, low blood pressure, acute respiratory syndrome, pulmonary embolism and the loss of several fingers and toes. He was in a medically induced coma for 31 days during which his heart flatlined on four separate occasions.
But on May 8, 2020, after 64 days in the hospital, Garfield did what doctors had thought impossible: he walked out of the front door. And now, three years to the date later, he had the privilege of reuniting with staff as a completely healthy man.
“I got to go to every department in the hospital and see all of the people that made that heroic effort that allowed my survival to take place — from the ER staff, to the ICU doctors, to my my physical therapist — it was such an unbelievable day and moment,” he said on Monday. “It was also such a satisfying way to celebrate National Nurses Week by walking and showing them what the fruits of their labor have produced.”
The return visit was also a stirring moment for the Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center staff, who remember watching Garfield beat the odds during a time when so many others were perishing.
“We lost patients, all of us did, so to see somebody that was that sick, that didn’t die, and walked out of the hospital, that was a great lift up for all of us,” said Dr. Daniel Dea, a critical care pulmonologist who served as the quarterback for Garfield’s treatment in the ICU.
Garfield’s return visit “was thrilling, joyful, he’s like a friend by now. It was fantastic to see him back at the hospital again.”
Those very early days of the pandemic were a terrifying time for hospital workers, as very little was known about the disease and how it spread. Garfield was one of the first COVID patients in America and the very first in L.A. County. At the time, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank was the only hospital in the region that would agree to accept a COVID patient, Garfield said.
“There are a lot of people that risked their own health, especially in that time when there was a fear that this (COVID) was going to kill anybody that got in contact with him,” said Dr. Stephen Kishineff, who took care of Garfield in the emergency room. “Everybody who was around him really was, at the time, concerned that they were going to contract this terrible illness and bring it home to their families.”
The heroism of hospital staff was not lost on Garfield, who has dedicated significant time to advocating for hospital workers since he was discharged, and helped raise money for a $78 million new emergency room at Providence in Burbank.
“This (healthcare) is a profession that is so under-appreciated both financially and emotionally. They deserve a lot of credit that they don’t get,” said Garfield. “I know I am here today because of them. There’s not even a question there for me.”
Garfield has also become a motivational speaker and seeks to inspire others with his story. His recovery was a hard journey, but something he got through with great tenacity and persistence.
“I had to learn how to chew and swallow and walk again,” said Garfield. “At 54 years old it’s a very humbling experience to learn to do everything again.”
The day Garfield left the hospital his physical therapist did not think an exit on foot was possible. At the time, Garfield was being transported in a wheelchair as his nerves were recovering from his 31 days in a coma. But the pure adrenaline of about 200 hospital workers gathering to cheer him on, and the joy of being reunited with his sister Stephanie Garfield Bruno and his partner A.J. Johnson, propelled him to his feet.
“It was probably one of the most empowering things in my life,” he said. “I had a commitment to myself to not be wheeled out of that hospital.”
Today, Garfield can do 95% of everything he used to do, which means lots of skiing, hiking, and mountain biking. Save the partial loss of fingers and toes, he has no lingering health effects from his battle with COVID-19.
What he does have is a new outlook on life.
“It’s all about understanding how precious life is. Every day waking up is a gift, so I don’t take it for granted,” he said. “I have given advice to over 20 critical COVID patients who have passed away and it reminded me even more how lucky I am to be alive.”
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